Palestine Authority for international force if truce bid fails

New York, Jan.16 (ANI): The Palestinian Authority's representative to the UN said on Thursday during an emergency session of the General Assembly here that he intends to ask the Security Council to authorize an international military force to impose a cease-fire if Israel and Hamas cannot strike a deal to halt the fighting. Accusing Israel of war crimes, Riyad Mansour warned that the war in Gaza could destabilize the entire region and thwart efforts to reach a comprehensive two-state peace settlement if it did not end soon.

The Jerusalem Post quoted Mansour as saying that it was incumbent on the UN to "lead us back from the precipice and to the shores of peace" - a reference to a speech made last fall by President Shimon Peres at the UN in which he said he could "see the shore of peace closer than ever before."

It was the latest push by the beleaguered Fatah government to gain traction in the diplomatic efforts, which have centered on Egypt's initiative to broker a truce between the two parties.

Israel failed on Thursday to prevent the emergency session of the General Assembly, convened to debate the war in the Strip and to call for both an immediate cease-fire and an end to the blockade on goods into the Palestinian territory.

The plenary session, called by Malaysia, Syria and Venezuela under the formal umbrella of a 12-year-old debate over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, came as UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon was in Jerusalem urging adherence to a week-old Security Council cease-fire resolution.

Israeli diplomats objected to the meeting in New York, arguing that it violated the rule that emergency sessions only be called when the Security Council fails to take action on an issue.

General Assembly President Miguel d'Escoto argued said he was convinced it was time for the UN's governing body to wade into the diplomatic frenzy. (ANI)